Rick Wilson, known for leading the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and pushing inflammatory rhetoric online, has officially been banned from X after posting content that appeared to endorse attacks on Tesla. His post linked to a Substack article titled “Kill Tesla, Save The Country” and showed a burning Cybertruck outside a Trump-branded hotel.
The caption included a statement urging readers to target Elon Musk’s vulnerabilities. The disturbing image and language caused outrage across the platform. Musk responded by calling Wilson “a psycho” and Libs of TikTok flagged the post as a form of domestic terrorism.
X initially issued a 30-day suspension and allowed Wilson to return if he deleted the post. He refused, instead ridiculing his critics and defending the message as a strategic critique. By Thursday, X permanently suspended his account.
Wilson’s article described Tesla as a financial tool for fascists and portrayed Musk as someone obsessed with power. He claimed that Tesla’s stock price was the foundation of Musk’s influence and proposed various ways to hurt the company financially.
Law enforcement has been treating recent attacks on Tesla owners as serious crimes. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that several individuals had already been prosecuted and said the Department of Justice was investigating those behind the planning and financing of such acts.
Wilson co-founded the Lincoln Project in 2019 after leaving the Republican Party. The group faced scandal when co-founder John Weaver was accused of sexually harassing young men. Despite public outcry, the group never shut down operations.
This is not the first time Wilson has flirted with violent rhetoric. In 2015, he said on air that someone should “put a bullet in Donald Trump.” Two assassination attempts targeting Trump took place in 2024 — one in July and another in September.
In addition to his article, Wilson posted a profanity-laced video insulting Musk and shared an image of Bruce Springsteen flipping off the camera, which he labeled his appeal against the ban.
